BRE launches international collaboration to advance responsible timber construction

BRE has announced a new collaboration with Built by Nature, the US Green Building Council (USGBC), the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen (DGNB) and other participating rating systems organisations to explore and demonstrate how existing green building rating systems recognise and reward responsible timber construction and can be used accelerate its adoption.

Announced today at COP31, the proposed 12-month collaboration will examine how the Principles for Responsible Timber Construction are already recognised and rewarded through established sustainability assessment systems, including BREEAM, DGNB, EDGE, Green Star and LEED.

Developed by Built by Nature and supported by nearly 400 endorsers, the principles provide a common framework to help ensure that increased demand for timber delivers benefits for climate, nature and people. The initiative aims to help developers, investors and other organisations committed to responsible timber construction understand how they can demonstrate alignment with the principles through existing building certification frameworks.

The collaboration will begin with the development of a white paper examining how the leading rating systems currently address responsible timber and other biobased materials. It will map existing requirements, credits and performance benchmarks covering embodied carbon, carbon storage, responsible sourcing, circularity, durability and whole-life performance. It will also identify opportunities for greater alignment, drawing on practical guidance and examples from construction projects around the world.

Drawing on comparative research, practical examples and dialogue with industry, the white paper will provide guidance for building project teams on how they can embed the Principles in development and construction practice while pursuing existing sustainability certifications.

Beyond this initial research, the partners identify gaps and opportunities to strengthen the recognition of responsible timber construction through guidance, assessment criteria and incentives. This could include recommendations for rating system organisations to consider and test improvements with project teams and, where relevant, manufacturers and suppliers.

The announcement will be made today at an COP31 side event, titled Building for Forests: Advancing Forest-Positive Construction. Convened by the Building for Forests Coalition, the event will bring together government ministers, climate leaders and senior representatives from international organisations, industry and finance to discuss how responsible timber and other biobased construction can support affordable housing, lower whole-life emissions and responsible forest stewardship.

Tom Wilson, Director of BREEAM at BRE, said:

“Timber and other sustainable materials have an important role to play in reducing the environmental impact of construction, but it is essential that their use is supported by robust standards for responsible sourcing and sustainability.

“Through this collaboration, we want to explore how established green building rating systems like BREEAM can better support the responsible use of these materials, giving developers and investors greater confidence in the choices they make. By working alongside our international partners, we have an opportunity to establish a clearer, more consistent approach that can help drive responsible timber construction across the industry.”

Paul King, Chief Executive of Built by Nature, said:

“This collaboration is an important milestone for responsible timber construction. Green building rating systems shape decisions made every day by investors, developers, asset owners and project teams around the world. By recognising and rewarding alignment with the Principles for Responsible Timber Construction, they can help turn ambition into practical action at scale.

"Making a clearer alignment between the Principles and existing certification frameworks helps developers, investors and project teams specify and deliver responsible timber construction with greater confidence and at greater scale.”

Jorge Chapa, Chief Impact Officer at the Green Building Council of Australia, said:

“Timber and other biobased materials can play a big part in cutting the upfront carbon in our buildings, helping to restore nature, and bringing about a more circular economy, but only if they're responsibly sourced. Our goal with this project is to better communicate how our rating systems already promote the use of timber and biobased materials, and to look for opportunities to drive greater uptake. Working together, Green Star, BREEAM and LEED can make biobased materials an easier choice for project teams everywhere.”